Tips on making a visual novel team in REAL LIFE?

[Hikizuu]

I'm still planning for a story and characters for my game.

I was wondering how do you even try to team up with people in real life than in the internet? I just don't think coming up with a team on the internet might be a good idea for me.

I'm also thinking to form a team of friends who does the game for fun.

How do I do it?

[Auro-Cyanide]

Teamwork is much the same regardless of how you do it really. The skills are the same, the problems are the same, everything is generally the same.

Depending on where you live, finding a visual novel team in real life is going to be flat out difficult. You are going to have to find people with the skill you need, interested in making visual novels, interested in making the same type of visual novel as you, interested in working with you aaaaand living in the same area. Your chances are not great. Your best bet would be to try and hunt down a place where people of that interest group are likely to gather. It might be an anime group, or a game making group, or a creative group. Something like that. You would have to be very pro-active in seeking them out.

[Destiny]

You might try to first get contact over the internet.
I mean, if you aren't student of a school or university with art, music, design, video game or simliar faculties, then the chances are very low, that you will find a whole team by clicking your fingers.
Try to get on board that are oriented towards the regarding topics.
Go on anime/manga boards, go on VN boards, if you have a special topic (like Yaoi) then go on a board for that.
Ask around, who is living in your area, ask around who has a talent in art, music composing and scripting and see, if you can get them interested in your team and if you would meet to make the team meetings in person.

But other then that, if you don't have friends with those interests and talents and if you aren't in a school/university that provides classes for such topics, then I also think that your search might be difficult, if not even in vain.

[SundownKid]

Finding people with specific skills will be tough, the best thing to do is go somewhere that people gather. For example, I met an artist willing to make a visual novel by talking with people in Indiecade. You can talk to people in your school's art class and see if anyone is interested. Or, you can go to your game or writing club (or start one, I guess). It takes a lot of people skills to find someone since you will likely have to explain it to them and convince them to work on it. Whereas on the internet, you have a pool of people who are already fans of it.

[gekiganwing]

Finding local people with similar interests can be challenging. Try browsing Meetup.com, and look for Facebook groups near where you live. If you have a fan convention somewhere nearby, consider posting on its forum.

[Sakai]

It is not something easy for sure, my team is pretty much scattered around the globe, everyone is on different continent or few are in the same and we met on here However for your question I believe anime expo's are pretty good idea to go to and look for people in there perhaps, where anime/manga is involved visual novel will so too, pretty much the whole Japanese culture will.

I myself wish to have my team in my country and close to me so I can go into another step of making a proper Visual Novel Developing team. That gotta be the office :3

[Auro-Cyanide]

I myself wish to have my team in my country and close to me so I can go into another step of making a proper Visual Novel Developing team. That gotta be the office :3

Actually, I don't think that is true now a days I'll soon be moving to the other side of the country from my team (I'm a part of a graphic design team at a large company) and because of telephones, email, instant messengers, video conferences, servers and all that stuff technology has brought, I'm still going to be able to do the exact same job and still be a part of the same team. Sure, it's nice being able to see people in person, and it sometimes can make things easier, as long as communication is possible you'll be surprised how many people do long distance teamwork in a very official capacity. The internet doesn't make anything less real.

[Sakai]

I myself wish to have my team in my country and close to me so I can go into another step of making a proper Visual Novel Developing team. That gotta be the office :3

Actually, I don't think that is true now a days I'll soon be moving to the other side of the country from my team (I'm a part of a graphic design team at a large company) and because of telephones, email, instant messengers, video conferences, servers and all that stuff technology has brought, I'm still going to be able to do the exact same job and still be a part of the same team. Sure, it's nice being able to see people in person, and it sometimes can make things easier, as long as communication is possible you'll be surprised how many people do long distance teamwork in a very official capacity. The internet doesn't make anything less real.

That is true but when leadership comes in, its always better to have very one around you so you know that no one is slacking off at the work when you pay them :3 ((Happily my guts are telling me no one is doing it on my team, they are like hamsters on a wheel! ))

But however thanks to the current techonology that can work out as well, but even tho if you plan on going to a convention e.g. Indie one to present your game or something, You still would love to have all of your people with you

[Destiny]

That is true but when leadership comes in, its always better to have very one around you so you know that no one is slacking off at the work when you pay them :3

I take a example that I am very familiar with to argue against this:

Website RPGs.
Be it the board version where people type novel-like RPGs or actual MMORPGs, but the team that works and maintains those games are rarely all in one spot, not even mention all in one country.
A familiar of mine is mod in WoW, living in Germany, while most other team members are most probably in America. It works.
I mean, if you want to control, if they work, then you can ask them for a weekly "meeting" (over skype, for example) where everyone explains how far he got, where he has troubles, where opinions can be exchanged. You can even "look over your workers shoulder" by demanding a quick look on the current state of work (the project audio file, the background sketches, etc). I am in Germany, but work for a International Association Company in Japan, they control my work through what I give them (the results) and the regular meetings (where I show them how far I am with my work). No trouble, nothing. And whenever I get into a slump or trouble, I notify them, so they are not suddenly confronted with vague replies of mine.

It MIGHT seem more comfortable to have everyone at the same spot, but if you for example look at Indiegame-Studios, most of them either rented a studio for a very short amount of time (with the rent probably being crowdfunded) where everyone just stopped working at a actual job (also because of the crowdfunding) to somehow work in that studio for that game together. Sure, it might be easier, it might even be the first step to become a real big studio; but you need the money to get all the talented people to you and keep them at your place. And usually, you aren't lucky to find all the people in your town that A) are interested B) are talented and C) are willing to spend time and work on YOUR project.

Saying, it is easier to work with people and also control them when they are close to you physically is also just not true.
Look at schools, the students are in the same room as the teacher, but does that automatically mean that they learn?

[fleet]

Check your local library to see if they have a manga/anime group. If not, talk to he library staff about organizing one.

[Sakai]

I do not believe we have to argue against anything, we have our opinions, our opinions differ from each others

[Destiny]

Hm, or like that.
I just found it sounded a bit in your post as if it simply wouldn't work online (as in generally, not for you), so I found myself to have to argue against that.
But sorry, if I misjudged your post there

[Sakai]

Hm, or like that.
I just found it sounded a bit in your post as if it simply wouldn't work online (as in generally, not for you), so I found myself to have to argue against that.
But sorry, if I misjudged your post there

Nah it does work online all I meant is that in my opinion and for me it would of work better in one place
Thanks for understanding!

[Hikizuu]

Thanks for your suggestions guys. BTW, whether you make the game by yourself or your team, how long will you be able to finish making it?

[Kate]

I am lucky, I have a myriad of creative/artistic friends who are willing to help me with my crazy schemes. However, sometimes money has to get involved, simply because if it isn't, what with work and/or college and such, if begging for freebies your project takes a backseat to everything else. That has been my only negative experience.